


Ardat-Yakshi Blues

by pemalites



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-29 23:56:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pemalites/pseuds/pemalites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Should be a simple job, killing a serial killer. <i>Should be.</i> But after meeting the Ardat-Yakshi, Shepard feels she can't bring herself to kill her - seeing a bit of herself in the asari. Warning for frequent drug and alcohol usage throughout the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Angry Biotic Walks Into A Bar

The stench of Omega's so called VIP section was no better than the rest of the station, and Shepard soon found herself regretting going back to the shit-hole. Surely she'd have been done with this place by now; but no, her newest squadmate requested her help with a rogue daughter. Her head throbbed, bio-amp pulsing in protest at the sensory overload she was subjected to as she forced herself to try luring the Ardat-Yakshi to her. Easy, right? But no, Afterlife made her head reel and her stomach queasy. Bass Shepard had no problem with bars, but this place wasn't a bar, not a club. It was cleverly disguised as all of that, but it wasn't. It reminded her of a war-zone; these were hunting grounds. No laws here, nothing reinforced.

Sketchy people to the left and right, scheming and plotting, others planning hits on civilians and drug trades, tainted eezo shipping, and so much more. The feeling of more than one pair of eyes upon her, undressing her without even being able to see clearly. Surely if any of them knew who she was, maybe they'd have second thoughts? Then again, in places like this, even Aria herself - Queen of Omega - was likely subject to objectification. It was the 2100s, and people were still sexist pigs. Shepard almost laughed at the thought, but did her best to focus.

"Back off asshole, I'm a dancer, not a hooker!" She overheard someone, surely not Morinth herself, yelling over the music at a very drunk turian.

Turning towards the source of sound, Shepard saw an asari dancer protesting, a disgusted look on her face. The turian said something nasty, moving closer to the dancer, and that was all it took for Shepard to make up her mind about intervening.

"The lady asked you to step away." She narrowed her eyes, taking a stance that proved she was ready to kick his ass right then and there should the need arise, despite being in a form-fitting dress Kasumi had gotten her. Wouldn't be the first time she'd tore someone a new one like this.

His mandibles flicked, and the equivalent of a smirk transformed his face. "You want in on this transaction? I don't care if it's you or this bitch—"

Shepard grit her teeth, feeling her rage bubbling over. It had been this way since Project Lazarus. She could hardly contain her anger anymore; the previously calm, careful commander was subsumed and replaced by a loose cannon. She supposed it wasn't so bad in times like these, though. The turian was on the ground within seconds, doubled over and gasping. Dusting off her hands, Shepard looked up at the dancer to see if she was okay. She said something that sounded like a thanks, but Bass could hardly tell over the music, so she nodded and moved on.

It wouldn't do to dither about and look out of place, so she moved onward to a small bar and ordered a drink. The bartender seemed bored, and it didn't take long at all for her to notice she was the only one seated there. Took about the same amount of time for Shepard to convince the bartender to give those at the club a free round of drinks to up sales. Of course, she managed to get a free drink herself, and with two Thessian Temples in her system, she felt confident enough to try out the dance floor. Her dancing was terrible, of course, but considering she soon received a tap on the shoulder, maybe her drunken confidence - among other things - was just enough to get her noticed.

She whirled around, ready to deck the turian she'd harmed earlier, but was greeted with an asari who had unmistakable features. Shepard nearly asked her what she was doing here, why Samara had entered Afterlife. Wasn't she supposed to be luring her daughter? Wouldn't Morinth run away and be off to another city, another world in a heartbeat if she saw her mother? But looking closer, she was certainly different. Nose a little thicker, a wider mouth, eyes tilted a tiny bit inward - different facial markings and a smirk similar to her own when she knew she was about to deliver the final killing blow to an enemy on the battlefield. Oh, this wasn't Samara alright, but she could see the resemblance.

"My name's Morinth. I've been watching you. You're the most interesting person in this place." Her voice was clear, drowning out the sounds of the bar, forcing Shepard to drink her in. "I've got a booth over here in the shadows, why don't you come sit with me?"

If she were sober, she would have laughed at her introduction. "Don't see why not." She replied instead, feeling drawn and following her.

Shepard talked her ear off about art and music and about a video she'd heard Joker talking about before called Vaenia, but tried her best to be subtle. Morinth almost looked disinterested before she mentioned how she'd traveled throughout space, describing some of the sights she'd seen. Sure, half of what she said was bullshit, but now was as good a time as any to pull out the charm and lies and lay it on thick. It wasn't too hard for Shepard to appear aloof, yet confident. The alcohol in her system certainly made that easy, even though the chemicals were already wearing off.

Soon enough, Morinth began coaxing her into following her to her apartment. Just as Shepard thought, "nailed it", she began to have doubts.

Morinth was so confident, so sure of herself, but while they'd been talking, she'd seen a sliver of desperation in her eyes. It got Shepard thinking. That look in her eyes seemed familiar. While they were on her way to Morinth's apartment, Bass finally figured it out. Morinth was an addict. Not just addicted to Hallex, but addicted to the rush she got from killing her partners - likely addicted too to whatever she absorbed from them. An addict. Sure, a killer, but an _addict._ And Samara wanted to kill her? Wanted to snuff her out, instead of helping her? What kind of mother was that?

"Come on in, it's nice and homey in here." Morinth pulled Shepard from her thoughts, opening her apartment's door and leading them inside.

She was right; this place was nothing like the bar. It was comfortably warm and smelled wonderful, even though she couldn't quite place what the scent was. After a moment's thought, it was so clearly Morinth's scent, an odd but pleasing mix of flowers, musk, and a hint of sulfur. Shepard eyed the place, fascinated by some of the art pieces on the walls, a krogan statue, a hell of an assault rifle hung on the wall, and various other things. There were some scribbles on torn journal pages lying about and some sketches of planets and scenery. This wasn't _just_ a killer or an addict. This was a living, breathing person with a personality. A life other than all of that. Why did Samara disregard all of this?

"You're into chess, huh?" Shepard smiled at her, eyeing a chessboard and its hand-crafted pieces on a coffee table in front of a plush couch. The chess set looked older than she was, and she suspected it might be human in origin. She almost gave into touching the pieces to be sure.

Morinth smiled back, that look in her eyes wilder and her legs crossing one another. She examined her uniform before responding, a wicked grin replacing the almost innocent smile. "Oh, of course. I love any game where your opponent can believe he's about to win, just before you kill him."

"Maybe we could play a game of it some time." Shepard couldn't resist offering, as if this were an actual date.

The asari's grin widened. "Absolutely. I haven't played it in awhile. Perhaps another night, though."

Shepard didn't want to risk boring her, so she let other statements and questions hang in the air and joined Morinth on the couch until Samara arrived. Morinth placed an arm lazily around her shoulders, moving closer to Shepard. "I almost miss the club. The heat, the movement. I can almost taste it still, nothing like it is here. Here, we're safe, and everything's muted. Is that what you want?"

Shepard responded immediately, surprised at how easy it was to be honest now with the asari. "No. Comfort's only an illusion."

"Yes, better to take control of your fate." Morinth nodded. "I've never understood the fascination with safety. Some of us choose differently. Independence over submission, I think we share that, you and I." She inched closer, tilting her head towards Shepard's.

"You compare us, but you're nowhere near my league." Bass scoffed, forcing her anger at Morinth's mother to not boil over.

"Mmm. So strong, I need this." Already, both of them seemed to abandon the act. Morinth moved even closer, closing her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them, they were black. "Look into my eyes and tell me you want me. Tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want."

Shepard felt a pull at her mind, her bio-amp flaring like never before. Spots of black swam across her eyes, the other mind trying to pull her under. She grit her teeth, fighting it with all of her will. The time it took to drag herself from the asari's power felt like eons, Shepard forcing herself to get control. After what seemed to be an eternity, Bass managed to speak, shoving Morinth away. "I'm not the victim you were hoping for."

"But you...who are you?" Morinth faltered, and the pressure on Shepard's head was instantly lifted, but not before she felt a trickle of fear from Morinth's thoughts. "Oh no. I see what's going on. The bitch herself found a little helper."

As Morinth pulled away, Shepard heard the door open and turned to see Samara quietly step in, walking quickly in the direction of her daughter and throwing her to the window with her biotics. Bass stood instantly, her anger rearing it's ugly head again at the sight of the Justicar. Her daughter. Her own daughter. A killer, an addict, and her solution was to murder her. The two bickered, argued, and Shepard had no idea what to do. Furniture was being tossed about with biotics left and right, a chair nearly toppling Shepard herself over in the scuffle. Didn't take long at all until the two had a stalemate, both throwing a singularity at the other in synchronization with Shepard standing between the two.

"I am the genetic destiny of the asari, but they are not ready to reveal this, so I must die?!" Morinth spat out, shaking slightly.

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more." Samara, cold and calculating, responded without hesitation. How long ago had she stopped thinking of her daughter as a person? For how long, exactly, had the justicar made it her life's goal to eradicate someone with so much potential?

Morinth turned towards Shepard, the desperation in her eyes more livid than before. "I'm as strong as she is. Let me join you."

"I am already sworn to help you, Shepard. Let us finish this." Samara retorted, looking as confident as her daughter had earlier in the nightclub.

The Justicar's confidence was irrelevant. Shepard had already made her decision the moment Samara had burst into Morinth's apartment; she had no use for someone that was bound by a code, despite her being temporarily sworn into her service. What would she do after their mission was complete? Would she attempt to kill Shepard? Would she kill more innocents to reach whatever goals she had, bound by a code? Yes, Morinth killed innocents too, but that could change. Samara would never change. Shepard shook her head, angry at herself for recruiting the Justicar and getting into this mess. She was even angrier at the thought of recruiting a serial killer, but then again, didn't she have an assassin in her squad now?

"Morinth will be more useful to me." Bass narrowed her eyes, moving towards Samara and gripping onto one of her arms with all of her strength. Samara stared at Shepard in disbelief, the biotic blue charge around her dissipating. She didn't even bother to struggle from Shepard's grasp.

"You will regret your choice." Samara's expression wasn't angry, but accepting, disbelief washed from her.

Shepard grimaced, grabbing Morinth by the shoulder as she came barreling towards her mother to finish her off. "Will I? The only thing I regret is recruiting you for this mission in the first place. Who was going to be next on your kill-list, _me?_ I used to be an addict, too. I've killed more than your daughter. I even sacrificed lives to save some of your own people." Bass held her by the collar now, using all of her mental strength to keep her anger at bay. She let go of her abruptly after a moment, Morinth too, and turned away to let the Ardat-Yakshi have some closure.

A gasp and a loud crunching sound followed soon after, Shepard wincing. No turning back, even if she came to regret this later on.


	2. Death of a Justicar

"She called you Shepard. Did I hear that right?" Morinth said after a long moment, staring at her mother's lifeless body.

Bass crossed her arms, letting out a soft sigh. "Yeah, that'd be me."

Her lips pursed. She was almost disbelieving, and chiding herself for not having recognized who she was. "I'd heard you were dead."

"I've been getting that a lot lately." Shepard shrugged, moving a hand as if to clear the air and change the topic.

Morinth laughed in response, turning towards her. "Never thought I'd almost kill the famous Commander Shepard. Sorry about that. Thanks for helping me out with...her. My mother was as powerful as she was hateful." She looked as if she were going to say more, but stopped.

"Not a problem, I have no use for people in my crew that can't think for themselves." Shepard paused, then decided to dive right on in and take up Morinth's offer. She needed all the help she could get for this mission. "You said to let you join me, instead of her. I assume that offer still stands?"

"Of course. You helped me, now I'll help you. I'm a killer, Shepard, it's what I do. You saw me in action already, you know how powerful I am." She smiled a toothless smile, awash with relief. Centuries of being chased, and it was over, just like that. _She was finally free._

Shepard looked downward, her bio-amp still making her head throb. Did she really just witness the death of a Justicar? Surely the Council would throw a fit, but they always had a habit of doing that no matter what Shepard did. What of the asari government, though? How would they handle the news? She almost relayed this information and her worries to Morinth, but was cut off by her telling her she would take her mother's place in more ways than one. She said few could tell the two apart, that she'd wear her clothes, mimic her voice, almost become her mother.

"No. Your mother knew the risks coming out into the terminus systems, we could tell the public the truth or just blame it on some other Omega asshole. Doesn't matter to me either way. My crew has a few that have done worse things than you. It'll be fine." Bass cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder differently than she had previously. She meant it to be a comforting gesture.

She shrugged it off, a look of worry decorating her face. "My kind are hunted. Someone will know what I am, find me, hunt me like mother."

"I won't let that happen." Bass doesn't know where her determination in the statement came from, but she meant each word. "You're one of my crew now, and we take care of our own. We'll look out for you so long as you do the same for us."

Morinth stared at the commander, unsure of what to say. Centuries years old, and this was the first time she genuinely felt the need to hesitate before doing anything. What did she have to lose, though? So she nodded, gathering a few things before heading off to Shepard's ship with her. On the way to the Normandy, Shepard explained the mission, that it was dangerous - oh, did she love dangerous - and that there was a high probability of them failing, of dying before even hitting the collector base. Morinth didn't care, so long as she retained her freedom. Looking out for others and being a part of a crew was strange and new to her, but she was sure she could manage.

* * *

"You did _what?"_ Miranda demanded, Shepard having called a brief meeting for the crew to explain their new squadmate.

"Samara would have likely turned on us after the mission; I couldn't let that happen. I had to make the call." Bass kept her gaze steady on Miranda, almost challenging her despite their budding friendship. "Morinth agreed to take her place on our team, so here she is. Any questions?"

Most of the rest of the crew shifted uneasily, but nobody exactly raised their hands to make a retort. The only ones that seemed indifferent were Jack, Zaeed, and Grunt. They were the only ones that looked as if they were thinking of speaking up, but nobody dared utter a word. Except for Jack, who seemed to fear nothing - not even the possibility of facing the commander's wrath.

"Yeah, I got a question. A few, actually." Jack stared directly at Morinth, ignoring Shepard glaring at her out of the corner of her eye. "She kills people with her mind or sex or some shit, right? I'd kill to have that kind of power. Hell, I've killed for _less._ Where do I sign up?"

That got a few laughs, and even a smirk from Shepard. It seemed to clear the air, and Bass found herself grateful and letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Zaeed seemed to be next up on firing off questions, Jack having carved a pathway for him.

"Got a question too. Nobody here's thinkin' of sleeping with her are they? That'd be goddamned suicide, and I ain't cleaning up the mess. Though come to think of it, after all this is over, it'd be a hell of a retirement plan." The veteran stared mock-dreamingly at the ardat-yakshi.

Before anyone else could comment, Miranda chimed in again. "Jokes aside, I'm sure the commander won't tolerate any problems. Keep your statements to yourselves, and all of you keep it in your pants." Miranda shook her head, not amused in the slightest. She couldn't believe she was even considering working with the asari, but then again, as Shepard likes to remind her: she's not in charge of this mission. She's just along for the ride, but after what Shepard had done for her and her sister, she decides to do her best to follow her own advice and trust Bass' judgement.

"I assume everyone's fine about working with Morinth?" Shepard rubbed the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. She then glanced around at the others at the table, gauging everyone's responses. "Unless anyone else has any insightful comments to make, that'll be all. Dismissed."

It went over way better than she expected, about as much as she'd hoped. Shepard felt almost as relieved as Morinth did after killing Samara. The crew trusted her, trusted her judgement, and this was proof of it. Just the thought of that alone cleared away her worries temporarily.

The crew cleared out, leaving only Morinth and Shepard in the room, and of course the ever-watchful EDI. Morinth hadn't brought too much with her, just a few trinkets and clothes in a bag slung over her shoulder. She hovered by Shepard, wanting something else other than figuring out where to put her things. Bass hadn't gotten to that yet, having expected the others to attempt spacing the asari. Morinth opened her mouth, then closed it. Bass was surprised she hadn't said anything during the brief meeting with the others, and was curious as to why she hadn't.

"Something on your mind?" Shepard turned towards her, her head not throbbing as badly as before.

She paused, then hesitatingly tried a coy smirk. "You won't like it, I'm sure, but I'm running pretty low on Hallex. Can we meet with my dealer?"

That was all she had to say after the meeting? Bass couldn't exactly say she was surprised, as she knew all too well what addictions were like. That didn't exactly stop her from groaning, though. "Come with me, Mordin will probably have something to help take the edge off. He's a doctor, and if he doesn't have anything Dr. Chakwas will." _Convenient that they had two medical specialists on her ship,_ Shepard thought.

Morinth's face lost all expression. "You're serious? I could pay you double what it's worth."

"I'm not interested in credits, Morinth. I expect my squad not to be dependent on substances, but if you have a problem I can see to helping you with it. Just between us and Mordin, and Chakwas if need be." She tried to keep her voice down, despite knowing damn well that EDI may or may not be relaying information to the Illusive Man or Miranda about what she'd just said. Thankfully, later on Shepard would find out after asking EDI that she found this information to be irrelevant, and had only relayed that Samara had been replaced to the Illusive Man.

"Okay. I'll try to keep it together." Morinth resisted rolling her eyes, feeling like a child being scolded.

Shepard stuck her hand out expectantly, Morinth reluctantly placing her bottle of Hallex in it. Noticing her hand was still out, she even more reluctantly placed her backup bottle into it with a sigh. "Talk to Kelly about this if you need to. She's our yeoman and good with psychology."

"Why are you helping me so much?" She couldn't bite back her response no matter how hard she tried.

"It's what I do. Besides, I need you in the best shape possible if you're watching my back in a fight. Can't have you hooked on drugs." Bass showed her the way to Mordin's lab, quickly explaining Morinth's addiction to the salarian. Turns out going to Chakwas about this wasn't needed at all, as Mordin had experience with addicts in the past. Hardly a surprise, since he'd been working on Omega for so long.

After she squared Morinth away with the doctor, she gave the bottles of Hallex to Kelly to dispose of discreetly - _yes, I'm aware of how dangerous she is, yes I'll be careful Chambers, we'll talk about it later_ \- and showed her where Samara had stayed, however briefly, in the observation deck. Morinth couldn't help but be fascinated by it, having a front row seat to a view of the stars. Shepard took her leave after making sure the asari was settled, more than eager to wash off the stink of Omega and climb into bed, hoping her mind wouldn't torment her with nightmares again.


End file.
